Apprentice 101: Synergy loses by not listening

By MAUREEN MORIARTY, SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Published
10:00 pm PDT, Tuesday, May 23, 2006

The final four candidates of the season were Lee and Sean of Gold Rush and Allie and Roxanne of Synergy. This week's episode featured a lesson on friendship in business and listening to your customers.

This week's assignment: To create a new line of uniforms for Embassy Suites. The employees voted for the best design.

Anyone guessing the women would have the edge this week, thinking women are the true fashionistas, was wrong. The men's designs were right on target, so much so that the Embassy Suites executives plan to use them! Lee and Sean won by listening to what the employees wanted and then delivering designs to their specifications. The men delivered uniforms that were, in the employees' words, "sophisticated, modern and comfortable to work in," including hip cargo pants and vented armpits for the chefs.

The women, on the other hand, were more intent on creating futuristic uniforms more suited to a Paris runway. Instead of listening to what the employees wanted, they pitched their own "high fashion" ideas. Their designs included culottes and stiff, puffy sleeves. A feminine-looking design for the bell staff prompted a dismayed Sean to quip, "I would be emasculated in that!" Worse, the front desk staff specifically asked for pants, yet Synergy produced skirts. Staff critique comments were "doesn't look comfortable, too edgy, not practical and wouldn't look good on all body types."

In the boardroom, after a long exhausting bickering session between two "good friends" Allie and Roxanne, Trump fired both women for losing and going after each other like "cats and dogs." Way to demonstrate loyalty ladies.

Lessons learned

The good

Team Gold Rush

The men worked together like a well-oiled machine. They bounced ideas off each other and had fun while remaining focused on a common goal: to win.

Listen and then deliver to your customers

The men understood that what mattered in this task was delivering what the employees wanted -- a comfortable, functional uniform. Lee wisely pointed out, "these people have to wear them to work every day." This task was won on this point.

The bad

When data gathering, ask, don't tell!

Allie and Roxanne spent their time with the staff trying to sell and impose their own ideas instead of listening to what their customers wanted. When data gathering, you should follow this old rule: You have two ears and one mouth; use them proportionally.

Being out of touch with your customer

We knew Synergy was in trouble in the beginning when Allie said it was "more important to be stylish than functional." She failed to connect to her customers with her fashion-speak language -- the staff didn't know the word "culottes." We can guess Allie has never worn an uncomfortable uniform all day. To be successful in business, it is critical that you speak the language and understand your customers' world.

Denial

Allie began this episode bragging about her mediation efforts from the previous task. Talk about being out of touch with reality! This season, we saw Allie consistently a) tell and b) patronize. During difficult times, the best leaders stop and ask themselves, what am I contributing to this situation? They learn from their experiences and take responsibility for their own behavior.

No backbone

Roxanne acquiesced and appeared to be intimidated by Allie throughout this task. Despite her concerns about the pants vs. skirts issue, she relinquished her authority to Allie, who was louder and pushier. Roxanne was unable to stand up for what she knew was right and contributed to her team's failure.

Hell hath no fury like a metrosexual scorned

For Sean this week's revenge was a sweet victory; he was incredibly motivated to beat Synergy. In earlier tasks, Allie and Roxanne treated Sean poorly. Treating people with respect, honesty and integrity is the bottom line. The women didn't and paid the price.

The ugly

Being rude and condescending to the expert.

There was no excuse for how Allie treated their designer. She was bossy and discourteous. She called him by the wrong name and told him his work was a "waste of time." Alienating your most valuable resource is just plain dumb.

Lesson of the week

Friendship in business

There is a fine line between friendship and business. Trump maintains it rarely works out. Yet, most high-performing teams in the workplace include people who truly enjoy working together.

Friendships in business can equate to powerful partnerships. When managed well, the results can be powerful, but attention must be paid to establishing clear boundaries, roles, responsibilities and decision-making authority.

I was disappointed with the women's failure to stand up for their positions while maintaining professionalism, self-respect and their relationship in the boardroom.

Their "friendship" was not the least bit evident in their childish boardroom display of accusations and talking over one another. True professionals can have differences of opinions and maintain their own views in a respectful way that doesn't endanger a relationship.